SOM uses robots to construct concrete Stereoform Slab for 2019 Chicago Architecture Biennial
Two concrete columns hold up a curving concrete roof of this pavilion that architecture firm SOM has built using a method it says could reduce the carbon footprint of high-rise concrete buildings.
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) has erected the Stereoform Slab for this year's Chicago Architecture Biennial in the city's West Loop.
The concrete pavilion is a prototype of a single-storey concrete bay found in high-rise buildings. It is built using a robotic fabrication method that the American firm argues is more sustainable than traditional construction methods, and could reduce its carbon footprint.
Experts and activists have recently called to ditch concrete in a bid to fight climate change, with the method accounting for eight per cent of the total global carbon dioxide emissions. SOM's project, however, aims to drastically reduce the carbon footprint of concrete, without making huge changes to construction methods. It focuses on the construction of a slab for high-rise buildings, which the firm found contributed to as much as 40 to 60 per cent of its carbon footprint.
"This pavilion demonstrates the exciting potential for design, technology, and building collaborations to make a significant impact on the way we approach large-scale construction," said SOM design partner Scott Duncan.
The curving form of the structure was created by a robotically crafted and reusable Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) mould that shapes the slab into arches to reduce the amount o...
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